Did You Know Kiara Advani, Siddharth Malhotra Were The First Lead Choice For Saiyaara?

Sidharth Malhotra, Kiara Advani, who won hearts with their chemistry in Shershaah, were reportedly the first choices!

Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda’s debut movie Saiyaara has become one of 2025’s biggest box office success, but interestingly, they were not the first choice to play the leads. According to a report by ScoopWhoop, director Mohit Suri and producer Aditya Chopra initially had bigger names in mind, including real-life couple Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra.

Sidharth Malhotra, Kiara Advani Were The First Choice For Saiyaara

Sidharth Malhotra, Kiara Advani, who won hearts with their chemistry in Shershaah, were reportedly the first choices for the film’s lead roles. Given their off-screen relationship and proven on-screen connection, the casting seemed like a no-brainer at the time. However, discussions with the two stars didn’t move forward, and eventually, the project went in a very different direction.

In a recent interview, Mohit Suri opened up about how the casting took shape. He revealed that while he was originally leaning toward familiar names, it was Aditya Chopra who encouraged him to take a newer, riskier path. “This story needs new energy,” Chopra apparently told him. “Let’s cast fresh talent, people the audience hasn’t seen before. I’ll back the film completely.”

That bold move changed everything. Ahaan Panday, making his debut under YRF, and newcomer Aneet Padda were roped in, and Saiyaara was reimagined as a youthful, emotionally grounded love story with fresh energy and faces. The gamble clearly paid off.

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Despite some initial scepticism, Saiyaara has gone on to dominate the box office. In just 11 days since its release, the film has raked in more than 250 crore in India alone. With glowing word-of-mouth and little competition until the next big release, the film is now eyeing a 300 crore milestone, and possibly even more in the coming weeks. Had Kiara and Sidharth taken on the project, the film might have looked very different, and I don’t know about others, but I would have really loved it

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First Published: July 29, 2025 11:23 AM